When scientists talk about the cryosphere, they mean the places on Earth where water is in its solid form, frozen into ice or snow. Read more ...

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Tag Archives: storm

This satellite image of the Great Arctic Cyclone was taken on August 7, 2012 when the center of the storm rolled into the middle of the Arctic Ocean. (Courtesy LANCE/NASA GSFC)

The Big One

The Great Arctic Cyclone of 2012 lifted out of Siberia on August 2nd, swirling in a counter-clockwise rotation up into the Arctic. As one of the most extreme Arctic cyclones ever recorded, its consumption of an already low sea ice extent raised many concerns. Now Arctic cyclones are garnering attention, but is all the hype warranted?

“People seem to have this thought that all this storminess is unusual,” said Mark Serreze, an Arctic climatologist and center director at NSIDC. “Well it’s not. It simply isn’t. Summer is the time for cyclones.” Arctic summers are not calm. In fact, the months of August and September see a maximum amount of cyclonic activity. Not every summer is very stormy, but overall, the Arctic is the Arctic for a reason. Continue reading →

As the Arctic Ocean becomes increasingly ice-free, many countries are eager to tap into previously inaccessible northern resources. Energy companies seek drilling permits for oil and natural gas, and shipping companies hope to ply newly opened sea routes. Given the unpredictable nature of Arctic sea ice, some wonder if operating in the already inhospitable north will be an economically viable effort. Others believe that even if drilling or shipping is not currently viable, the Arctic is changing fast enough that industry in the Arctic is here to stay. Continue reading →

This graph shows the yearly trend toward later Arctic sea ice minimum dates, but also illustrates the wide variability from year to year. Credit: NSIDC

A reader recently asked if the date of the annual Arctic sea ice minimum is shifting later each year. And if so, is that shift a sign of heat being stored in the Arctic region?

According to the satellite record, Arctic sea ice generally melts to its minimum annual extent between the first and third week of September, after which ice begins freezing again. In recent decades, the Arctic has been gaining heat: Air, land, and ocean temperatures in the region have been slowly rising, and scientists have noted dramatic reductions in summer sea ice extent, as this heat causes more ice to melt away. But is this heat causing sea ice to form later each fall? Continue reading →

This satellite image from November 8 shows the hurricane-like storm that hit Western Alaska earlier this month. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen, using data obtained from the Land Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE).

On November 8 and 9, a strong storm hit the Western Alaska coast, bringing blizzard conditions, storm surge of up to 10 feet and wind gusts as fast as 93 miles per hour. Along the Western Alaskan coastline, towns and villages prepared for the worst. “Up here, cities are much more sparse, but a storm like this still impacts the people that live there,” said Kathleen Cole, an ice forecaster at the National Weather Service. Damage reports after the storm indicated extensive flooding, wind damage to buildings, as well as power outages, which led to many evacuations to higher ground and to shelters with generator power. Some reports referred to the storm as a “blizzicane,” or an Arctic hurricane. What was unusual about this storm—and was there any connection to changes in the Arctic climate? Continue reading →